By KELLY KEHOE PETALUMA HIGH SCHOOL, 17 Today’s younger generation is interested in a new form of expression: Tattoos and body piercing. Instead of a new hair cut or color, or maybe even a new pair of shoes or a new shirt, younger people like to get a [...]
By CYPRIEN PEARSON PETALUMA HIGH SCHOOL In the wake of terrible disasters, such as the tsunami in Japan, there has been a never-ending stream of people shrugging, “It doesn’t affect me . . . Why should I care?” Although it may be true that a woman struggling to [...]
By KATIE BREECE PETALUMA HIGH SCHOOL, 17 The streets were crowded with people cheering, honking horns and setting off fireworks — not your normal reaction to a death, but this was not a normal death. When the death of Osama bin Laden was announced, the American people took [...]
By KEVIN POTERACKE PETALUMA HIGH SCHOOL SOPHOMORE, 16 The United States is noticing the rate of children becoming overweight at a younger age increase each year. Most children in the U.S. do not get in the daily amount of exercise that is recommended. Recently, scientists have proven that [...]
By CARLEE CARTER PETALUMA HIGH SCHOOL, FRESHAMN, 13 Many students do not feel they need to do things other than the basic classes to graduate, and although this is true in the short term, it will do little to help in the long run. Outside of classes, there [...]
By ANTHONY GUENZA PETALUMA HIGH SCHOOL, 18 Marijuana. Pot. Weed. Mary Jane. I’m sure everyone around is just as aware of at least a dozen other nicknames for this illicit little vice that has rooted itself in our society for the past few decades. Upon looking at the present laws, [...]
By MARY CALLAHAN THE PRESS DEMOCRAT Plenty of folks would need Hermione Granger’s bewitched Time-Turner to pull off the scheduling feat that is Patrick Malaret’s final semester at Petaluma High School. There’s choir, color guard, theater rehearsal and wildlife museum. Advanced Placement exams are behind him, finals lie ahead, and [...]
By LARISSA BIRTHELMER BROOK HAVEN MIDDLE SCHOOL, SEBASTOPOL, 14 I stepped out of the plane. The smell of dried grass and wood filled my nostrils. The air was so thick I could barley breathe, and I choked several times before continuing behind my brother. Although it was around 5, the [...]
In Petaluma's downtown, there are boutiques and restaurants aplenty; we have no need of a large department store, as well. At the location previously belonging to Kenilworth Junior High, a Target and its accompanying shops will hardly improve our small town. Rather, it will inhibit our traditions.